The ancestor of this recipe was a beloved burger on the menu of a bar where I was a cook back in my college days.

Working on a flat-top grill (the same surface used in diners to cook hash browns), we'd top the burger with a special mix of veggies, top the veggies with a slice of American cheese, douse the whole concoction with beer, then cover it with a dome lid and steam the burger until the cheese melted.

It was addictive - and I don't even like beer.